LAHORE: A judicial magistrate on Monday discharged Punjab Bar Council’s (PbBC’s) member Rana Zamir Ahmad Jhedu and others in a case of attacking police and city administration personnel during an alleged anti-encroachment operation in the Kahna area.

Advocate Jhedu, who is also a leader of PTI lawyers’ wing, his brother and others, appeared before Judicial Magistrate Ahmad Saeed Saam at Model Town courts.

The lawyer alleged that his brother was arrested by police and taken to Kahna police station.

Mr Jhedu alleged that when he along with Lahore Bar Association Vice President (Model Town seat) Waqas Kahloon visited the police station, several senior police officers, including an ASP and the SHO concerned, tortured them.

Police say lawyers attacked personnel

He said during the torture, Kahloon suffered a head injury.

He alleged that the district administration attempted to seize his inherited land to facilitate an housing scheme of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s son-in-law.

The magistrate discharged the PTI lawyer, his brother and others in the case.

Advocate Jhedu expressed gratitude to the representatives of the Lahore Bar Association and Lahore High Court Bar Association, both ruled by pro-PTI groups, for reaching the police station at night and securing their release.

He criticised the leadership of the Punjab Bar Council for, what he claimed, keeping a mum at the behest of Federal Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar.

The LBA had also given a call for strike against the alleged police torture on the lawyers.

However, business as usual was witnessed at the sessions and other lower courts.

CASE: In an earlier development, the police had lodged three cases, one against lawyers, for carrying out attacks on the law enforcement agency.

The FIRs were registered following a clash that erupted between the police and lawyers following an encroachment drive launched by the revenue department officers to vacate a possession from some residents of the village in Kahna on Sunday night.

The sources said that two complaints were filed against the local residents who attacked the police and the revenue officers.

The other was registered against 40-50 protesters including the lawyers on the same charges of blocking the road and attacking the police.

In this FIR lodged on the complaint of Sub-Inspector Mohammad Shafique against 40-50 attackers, the police applied eight sections of the PPC, including section 353.

Similarly, two other FIRs were registered on the complaint of revenue officer Muhammad Jamil and Ammar Afzal against the armed men for hurling life threats on them.

They claimed that the revenue officers had launched an anti-encroachment drive to vacate a land in Kahna area when they came under attack by the local residents.

On the other hand, dozens of lawyers including office bearers of the bar association blocked the main Ferozpur Road for many hours.

They had gathered on the road late on Sunday and blocked it till the wee hours on Monday, throwing the traffic on the main artery of the city out of gear, causing great deal of inconvenience to the motorists.

They dispersed giving a warning to re-launch strong agitation for allegedly detaining and torturing their fellows by the police.

It was said that the negotiations between the police high ups and the representatives of the lawyers remained inconclusive.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2025